A review by liralen
The Necessary Hunger by Nina Revoyr

5.0

I'm not sure what to say here except that the pacing is gorgeous: The Necessary Hunger is a slow burn of a book, eschewing dramatics in favour of everyday life and tensions in LA in the 90s. Basketball and matter-of-fact lesbianness, yes, but also race tensions and all-consuming crushes on unavailable people and navigating competition and family and friendship. It's hard to describe the plot in any real depth without getting in way too deep (or throwing in spoilers), so I'll just say that this is far more character-drive than standard YA fare, but once you settle into the pace it's a delight. Nancy and Raina are both such measured characters, with a dynamic cast around them, and I'm not sure what moe I could have wanted here.